Watch This: As Tetris Turns 30, Here's Why it's so Addictive

To celebrate World Tetris Day and the enduringly popular game's 30th birthday, the University of Sheffield has released a video exploring the psychology of the classic puzzle.

Dr Tom Stafford explains how the game taps into the brain's most basic pleasure impulses and that the never-ending "chain of partial-solutions and new unsolved tasks" offers the same kind of satisfaction as scratching an itch.

Stafford explains:

Tetris is the granddaddy of puzzle games like Candy Crush saga – the things that keep us puzzling away for hours, days and weeks. [It's] a pure game: there is no benefit to it, nothing to learn, no social or physical consequence. It is almost completely pointless, but keeps us coming back for more.

Watch the video below to discover why you see colourful blocks falling from the sky in your dreams at night, and don't forget to share your favourite Tetris memories by leaving a comment.